Let’s face it. Stress is a part of life. You get caught by a train on the way to a doctor’s appointment that you’ve been anticipated for months – stress rears its head. Your child gives you the supplies list for a science project the day before its due – stress just barged in. The charge to your laptop dies while you are conducting a scheduled webinar for a hundred paid guests – stress is performing a triple axel in your body. These are moments that make your thoughts race and heart palpitate. Operating your own business is no exception.
If you are a start-up solopreneur, then get ready because there will be many long nights ahead. Everything falls on your shoulders as the only person operating your entire business – design, accounting, marketing, social media, branding, products/services (or both), etc. When there’s only one person running the show, it is easy to get lost in translation with the burning desire to get ahead of the curve. But, this is also where the stress impedes our minds and wreaks havoc on our bodies. You see, everyone knows how that stress is detrimental, but entrepreneurs have a habit of pushing the envelope because we want to have a thriving brand…yesterday.
Protecting your mental health is crucial to your business, especially if you are a solopreneur. Your entire company depends on your ability to be intentional, competent, and present. Therefore, living conscious is not a compromise. Once stress becomes acute it can cause anxiety and depression. And if you had a traumatic experience working in Corporate America, as I did (last month’s blog), then entrepreneurial stress can also lead to PTSD.
But, it doesn’t stop there. Stress deregulates your body, throwing your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis off-kilter, creating hormonal imbalances, and weakened immune and nervous systems. This mental disruption compromises your physical health, causing heart disease, chronic pain, memory loss, and high blood pressure, to say the least. For women of color, this is a double whammy because our community is faced with health conditions due to poor diet, lack of exercise, and insurmountable trauma that lives beyond mental and physical boundaries, but at the spiritual level. That’s deep, ladies!
Thriving as an entrepreneur is also important to our mental health, so here are some steps you can incorporate into your regime to reduce the effects of stress:
- When you wake up, throughout your day, and before you go to bed show gratitude.
- Try yoga or exercising at the beginning of the day to increase relaxation and serotonin levels.
- Decrease your caffeine intake and drink more water.
- Incorporate healthy foods for meals and snacks.
- Make sure to take breaks throughout your schedule.
- Find time to laugh.
- Learn how to say, “No”.
- And if something doesn’t get done, let it wait until tomorrow (or whenever).
Last, the budget for support of your business, even if that means hiring an intern. Staying in your lane of expertise goes a long way when investing your time and energy. It also frees you from unwarranted frustration and stress.
Your mental health is a commodity that cannot be taken for granted. You’ll see that you are better equipped to run your business when you are in a healthy mental space – and your energy will be well-received.
Aria Craig is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Single Mother Diaries™ series for single, divorced, and blended moms wanting to thrive in the three most important aspects of life: parenting, career/entrepreneurship, and relationships. She is also a Certified Holistic Mental Health Coach who guides people towards breakthroughs after being broken from acute and chronic trauma. Aria is currently writing her first fictional novel about a woman who learns tough life lessons and navigates a disheartening relationship with her narcissist sister after overcoming the effects of generational consequences passed down by her mother.
Learn more about Aria at www.ariacraig.com
Instagram: aria.craig
